The present invention relates to systems and methods for locating, orienting, and tracking one or more objects, particularly objects equipped with one or more devices or location tags using wireless network technology.
Location of objects, including items, animals and persons, is extremely important, especially when such objects are distributed over wide areas and expanses. Establishments, such as medical and health organizations, public transportation systems, banks, delivery services, the armed forces, and security systems, would benefit if they were able to locate items and personnel in their organization at any time, regardless of where they were positioned. To date, no such location or tracking system is available and there remains a need to accurately and cost-effectively identify the location of objects and/or personnel that exist as part of a larger system or organizational structure.
Existing techniques for location of objects include the use of infrared and laser systems, or sonar, radar, or satellites (global positioning systems or GPS), as examples. Unfortunately, most techniques require additional infrastructure, reference points, and/or sensors specifically for the purpose of localization. In addition, line-of-sight communication (wherein a transmitter and receiver are in visual contact with each other) is usually required with such technologies. As such, current techniques are limited in their application and use. There remains a need to offer improved location and tracking systems with minimal infrastructure components that are readily adaptable in today's high technology environment, and, in particular, to overcome the extensive infrastructure deployment issue associate with current systems.